The six Air Self-Defense Force C-130 transport planes that were on standby in Singapore to evacuate Japanese from Indonesia flew back home Thursday afternoon after their mission was called off.
The transports had been on alert and preparing to airlift Japanese from Indonesia to Singapore. But the government decided Tuesday to withdraw the ASDF planes because the crisis in Indonesia has subsided.
On Thursday, the ASDF transport unit, with 209 troops aboard, returned to its Komaki base in Aichi Prefecture via Manila. "Fortunately, you did not need to transport our citizens (out of Indonesia). I hope the experience gained by the unit will be shared by all elements of the Self-Defense Forces, as more Japanese abroad may be involved in regional crises in the future," Hiroyasu Kurihara, parliamentary vice minister for the Defense Agency, told the ASDF transport unit at the base on behalf of agency chief Fumio Kyuma.